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October 28, 2003SAP Canada Goes To Parliament
SOUTH ASIA PARTNERSHIP CANADA NEWSLETTER
October 2003
“We should take full advantage of the opportunities to strengthen ties at the people to people level.” – Ann Thomson, SAP Canada Board Chair to Canada’s foreign affairs committee. See story.
SAP Canada serves as
a coalition of Canadian organizations that
together and with South Asian partners,
works for sustainable human development
in the region.
Get Involved: SAP Canada invites you to become a member of South Asia Partnership and join thousands of organizations and individuals in five countries working to make a difference in South Asians’ daily lives. Individual memberships are $50. For more information about becoming a member, visit our web site or call our membership coordinator at 613-241-1333 ext. 230.
Index
SAP Canada in the Media
Coming Events
Recent Events
Reports On-Line
Connect with SAP Canada
SAP CANADA IN THE MEDIA
The South Asia Partnership story in Pakistan will be broadcast on Vision TV, Nov. 4, 10:30 pm (ET). (Check your local television guide for the channel.) This documentary produced by Villagers Media tells the story of how thousands of Pakistanis, with the support of SAP Canada and the Canadian International Development Agency, work persistently for democracy, religious tolerance, women’s equity, peace and agrarian reform. Visit Villagers Media web site for the full schedule.
SAP Canada broadcasts each week highlight recordings of its activities on Ottawa’s CHUO 89.1 FM. If you would like to broadcast SAP Canada’s latest clips on your community radio show, contact SAP Canada Communications.Watch Cyberbully (2015) Full Movie Online Streaming Online and Download
COMING EVENTS:
CIDA To Close India Desk by 2006. In June 2003 India declined government-to-government aid from Canada and 21 other countries, save the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Russia, Japan, and Germany. India did encourage these countries to support the development efforts of Indian civil society. Canada responded in October 2003 by deciding to close its bilateral program with India and redirect $27.2 million annually spent to other CIDA activities. Once current bilateral projects end in 2006, CIDA will close its India Desk. CIDA chose not to continue support to civil society in India, although it plans to bolster its Canada Fund for Local Initiatives by $400,000 to $1 million per year, based out of the Canadian High Commission. Only Indian NGOs can apply to this fund. SAP Canada is tracking this issue and will seek to provide an opportunity for members and other interested parties to discuss the implications of Canada’s new India policy. For more information, contact SAP Canada’s India Program Manager by telephone 613-241-1333 ext. 231 or email.
Thursday, October 31, 2003, 12-2 PM: Strengthening Civil Society is a Recipe for Sustainable Democracy in Pakistan. SAP Canada presents colleagues, Tahseen Mohammed and Irfan Mufti from South Asia Partnership Pakistan to speak on the impact of a 15-year partnership between CIDA, SAP Canada and SAP Pakistan and how it has made a difference in the lives of thousands of people and organizations. The presentation will be in Room 1200, 1 Nicholas Street, Ottawa, Canada. Reserve your spot by calling Isabelle Valois at 613-241-1333 ext. 227 or by email.
November 4, 2003: SAP Canada sponsors film on youth empowerment in India at WIAM film festival in Ottawa, Canada. SAP Canada is pleased to partner with World Inter-Action Mondiale, in its popular annual film festival. In 2002, communities in northwest India were dying of starvation, following years of drought, a fact initially denied by their government. This film, produced by the Falls Brook Centre, about the empowerment of youth and how they helped their communities in a time of crisis by raising national and international attention to a drought. For more information on locations and the other films at the festival, see the schedule at World Inter-Action Mondiale’s web site.
January 4, 2004: The Pakistan Social Forum in Lahore, Pakistan, plans to gather more than 40,000 people from different areas of civil society from across Pakistan, especially those engaged in social movements, political struggles, and rights-based movements. The focus of discussion will be peace, human security and regional cooperation in South Asia apart from issues of livelihood, food security, democracy and patriarchy. Five thousand participants will participate in the World Social Forum in Mumbai, India, in 2004.
January 5-6, 2004: The People’s Summit of South Asia is in Islamabad, Pakistan this year. The People’s Summit is a gathering of South Asian civil society groups that seeks to address and develop agendas of action for problems faced by the people of the South Asian region. With its vision of eradicating poverty, preventing human rights violations, promoting good governance and people centered, sustainable development, the summit provides concerned groups a platform to voice their concerns, share successful strategies of action, and strengthen one another through mutual regional cooperation. For more information, visit SAP International’s web site.
Control Small Arms in South Asia campaign launched. Small arms continue to be a deadly scourge in South Asia. SAP International is a leader in the South Asian Small Arms Network (SASAnet) and hosted the South Asian launch of the global Control Arms campaign of the International Action Network on Small Arms. Regionally, SASAnet is calling for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation to develop an integrated regional action program to curb the trade and use of small arms in the region.
Measuring Impact of Increased Women’s Representation in Local Government: Lessons from India. SAP Canada’s India Program Manager Veena Gokhale will be organizing events in Canada to share the lessons learned at the successful October 20-21, 2003 New Delhi workshop back to Canada. Stay tuned to our web site for the latest information.
Index
RECENT EVENTS
SAP Canada presents to House of Commons foreign affairs committee before parliamentarians travel to South Asia. SAP Canada’s Chairperson Ann Thomson on Octohber 2 presented a brief to Parliament’s Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade. The parliamentary committee invited SAP Canada to speak on behalf of its membership and bring its 20-years of experience working with civil society organizations in South Asia to the discussion. The parliamentary committee is conducting hearings on Canada’s relations with countries with significant Muslim populations. Read the SAP Canada brief. | Read the parliamentary record: English | French
Governance, Gender and Conflict Resolution: On October 20, distinguished Indian scholar Dr. Anjoo Sharan Upadhyaya made two presentations on conflict resolution, gender and development, one with the Canadian Committee on Women, Peace and Security, a national working group on women’s rights in conflict, and the other with the Associated Research Group of Asian Affairs at Carleton University. The presentations focused on India’s role and the role of Indian civil society in conflict, demobilization and participation in peace processes. For more information contact SAP Canada Communications.
Governance and Decentralization: On October 7, Dr. George Mathew, Secretary of the SAP International network and Director of the Institute of Social Sciences in New Delhi, India, spoke about the “Crisis of Governance in South Asia: Assessing Decentralization’s Promise” at a lunch-time seminar in Ottawa, Canada. He spoke on the impact of the 73rd and 74th amendments on how Indian governments, institutions, judiciary and civil society reacted to a widening of participation and the decentralization of power. Part of his speech will be broadcast on CHUO-FM 89.1 FM this Wednesday at 5:40 pm EST. For more information contact SAP Canada Communications.
Measuring Women’s Empowerment: On October 20-21, 2003, SAP Canada and the Institute of Social Sciences with the support of Canada’s International Development Research Centre held a successful two-day workshop in New Delhi, India to bring together the growing body of research, practice and knowledge that has evolved over the past decade on women and local governance. For more information contact India Program Manager.
SAP Canada Strategic Plan 2003-2008: In September 2003, SAP Canada launched its new five-year strategic plan. The plan is derived from SAP Canada’s experience and consultations in Canada and across South Asia. The plan focuses SAP Canada’s programming on three themes in South Asia: Sustainable Livelihoods, Governance and Democracy, and Peace and Security. For a copy, contact SAP Canada Communications.
Index
REPORTS AVAILABLE ON-LINE
Police Reform in India seminar report with Dr. Doel Mukerjee of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative
SAP International with an Update on the Small Arms Situation in South Asia.
Celebrating Women’s Empowerment Day in India
CONNECT WITH SAP CANADA
The South Asia Human Development Forum is an on-line platform to strengthen regional dialogue among development stakeholders – civil society, networks and donors in South Asia, among others – to engage in discussion and share information about human development in South Asia. This site is open to all participants who want to read or post information and build links and support for issues such as democracy, governance, conflict, and justice.
SUBSCRIBE to SAP E-Link: Receive periodic notices of opportunities to participate, report releases and web site updates by email.
SUBSCRIBE to YouthAsia, a list-server for young Canadians and South Asians to discuss issues, share career information and keep in touch.
SUBSCRIBE to Afghanistan, a list-server that shares information on developments in and on Afghanistan and Canada.
SUBSCRIBE to Communication for Social Change, a list-server that discusses the practice and theory of using communication techniques for international and community development. This discussion is hosted on the South Asia Human Development Forum Network
Khoj India Directory: A Directory of Canadian Organizations Working on Indian Development Issues. This directory features the work of 48 Canadian non-government organizations and civil society organizations, eight private sector organizations and 22 academics on development issues in India.
Index
Thank you for reading this newsletter. Your suggestions and feedback are always welcome! Contact our Communications Officer by email or by telephone 613-241-1333 ext. 228.